Removal from the jurisdiction

F was British and had always lived in England. M was Angolan born and had lived in SA and the UK and her family lived predominantly in Angola. In 2013 M abducted the child to Angola but returned him in 2015, orders for his return having been made by the High Court in 2013. The court made adverse findings about the M’s conduct in abducting the child, about which she expressed genuine remorse. The court received expert evidence about the legal system in Angola. Despite the court’s reservations about the mother’s trustworthiness as a result of her conduct, Cobb J gave her permission to relocate permanently. He required a number of undertakings to be given, including the execution of a charge against a property in the UK by the maternal grandmother, and for the mother to ensure that the order for contact made in the UK would be ‘reviewed and confirmed’ in the Angolan court. The child himself wished to return to Angola with his mother, whose care of him was exemplary save in respect to his emotional needs in the context of the abduction and deprivation of his contact with his father. The child was benefiting from a good education in Angola and had settled well there. Applying the K v K global, holistic evaluation it was in his interests for M to be given permission to go, provided he would have proper contact with his F in future.